National Public Radio has produced a series of stories following the recipients of the Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence. These stories examine how community colleges are working to ensure student preparation for the workforce. According to Josh Wyner, Executive Director of the Aspen Institute’s College Excellence Program, the program’s goals are twofold – first, to shift public perceptions around community colleges as models of high caliber, postsecondary education; and second, to identify strategies for achieving excellence, which may be used to encourage other institutions.
These stories come from institutions across the U.S., each addressing issues in their local communities. One common thread runs through each of these stories – students credit their community college as a pathway to achieving both personal and professional goals.
These programs can be streamed online here:
- Community College: The New Frontier
- Walla Walla Community College: Budding enologists and prisoners: how does one school help two strikingly different sets of students succeed?
- El Paso Community College: Raising expectations and creating a college-bound culture.
- Valencia College: A shining example of first-rate education.
- Lake Area Technical Institute: A small town technical college that delivers big results.